Ricky came up behind Amy in the hallway and wrapped his arms around her waist as he kissed her cheek. Amy smiled but didn't turn around.
"I have an idea about spring break," he told her.
"Oh? And what's that?" she asked, still grabbing things out of her locker.
"I think the three of us should take a little road trip." Amy closed her locker and spun around in his arms, looking at him with an arched eyebrow and a look of curiosity.
"Oh?" Ricky smirked and nodded.
"I think the three of us should go up the coast to that little town we stopped at and just hang out for a week." Amy tucked her hair behind her left ear.
"Ricky, that might be a little expensive, don't you think?" He smiled and shook his head.
"I've already got most of it figured out. We can go over everything this weekend then talk to your parents about it." Amy chewed her lip nervously as she considered his suggestion. "Just think about it and wait 'til I've shown you what I've got worked out. Please?" He gave her a puppy dog pout and she giggled.
"Ok. I'll take a look at what you've got figured but no promises." Ricky smiled and gave her a kiss. At Madison's locker Justin was leaning on the locker next to hers also trying to persuade her to take a trip with him over spring break.
"It won't be camping camping; we'll be in a log cabin," he assured her. Madison didn't look convinced. "Okay think of it like this: you get to earn extra credit in both PE and science plus you get to go camping without having to actually sleep outside and rough it." Madison's expression changed from doubt to one of consideration. "Come on. I know you want to," he teased in a sing-song voice as he smiled at her. Madison smirked and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.
"I don't know, Justin. I'm not really an outdoorsy kind of girl. Even if we do sleep in a log cabin at night there'll still be like hiking and stuff, outside, with bugs and wild animals." Justin laughed at her last words.
"Maddie, it's not camping in the mountains; it's a campgrounds. The wildest animals we'll likely encounter are squirrels and rabbits. Maybe a rogue bird or two," he added with a smile as he wiggled his eyebrows. Madison laughed and nodded her head.
"Okay. I'll talk to my parents about it and get 'em to sign the permission slip." A grin spread over Justin's face.
Grace meanwhile was powerwalking towards Grant's locker with exciting news. The smile on her face got even bigger when she spotted him at his locker, his head down as he concentrated on placing books into his backpack.
"Guess what?" she asked him excitedly. Grant glanced up and laughed when he saw that his girlfriend was practically about to jump out of her skin with excitement.
"Something good I take it," he replied with a smile. Grace nodded enthusiastically.
"You remember that guy Jeff Zagay, from my mom's support group?" Grant nodded as he shut his locker, giving Grace his undivided attention. "Well he's helping to organize a team of adult and student volunteers to go to Africa and help local medical clinics over spring break." Grant's eyebrows lifted slightly at the news out of curiosity; he wasn't sure yet why Grace was so excited.
"Ok…."
"Well he and mom have chatted at the meetings, obviously, and so he knows I wanna go into medicine and he's holding two of the spots for us! If we want 'em," she informed him excitedly. Now Grant's brows lifted even higher in surprise.
"Are you serious!?" Grace nodded, the smile never leaving her face. We've got about a week and a half to get the necessary shots and all the paperwork together, permission slips signed, etc. and then we could be getting some actual medical experience! While we're still in high school!" she explained excitedly. "So what do 'ya think?" Grant smiled at her.
"I think it sounds like an excellent way to give us a leg up at med camp this summer," he told her with a grin. Grace pulled out a packet from her binder and handed it to him.
"Here's everything you need to fill out and all the information about the trip. Jeff said he's willing to drop by the house and pick up our paperwork if we're interested. I just gotta let him know that we are interested so he can go ahead and fill up the other spots." Grant nodded his head in understanding and smiled at her.
"Looks like we're going to Africa." Grace smiled back.
"Looks like." In another section of the school Ashley and Griffin were climbing the stairs to the second floor to head to their first class.
"So a whole week to do nothing," Griffin said, a dreamy look on his face. "I can't wait to sleep in and eat junk food all day." He turned his head to look at Ashley.
"What are you planning to do over break?" Ashley shrugged.
"Pretty much beg my parents to take me driving during their lunch breaks and every other chance I can get," she said with a mischievous smile. "Maybe spend a little more time with Toby. Oh. And that sleeping in part sounds like a good idea too." A grin spread over Griffin's face.
"So things are going well with the Tobster I take it?" He didn't wait for Ashley to respond. "So, planning to sleep with him any time soon or you just gonna take things slow this time around?" Ashley's eyes widened in embarrassment and she smacked Griffin's arm. He simply shrugged, un-phased by her reaction. "What? It's not like you haven't thought about it before. I just wanna make sure when you do do it it's for the right reasons. And it goes without saying if he breaks your heart I'll hurt him." Ashley gave her best friend a small, grateful smile and nodded.
"Yes, it goes without saying." Walking together down a different hallway Alice was looking at her boyfriend with annoyance as he practically bounced along beside her with happiness.
"I can't believe spring break's just around the corner!" he told Alice with a smile. "A whole week dedicated to goofing off and sleeping in!" Henry sighed, the smile not leaving his face. "Oh the joys of youth." He turned his head to look at her. "What are your plans for the week?" Alice shrugged and adjusted the strap of her backpack.
"Just relaxing, occasionally going out with you, and hanging out with Ben, if we can get him to hang out with us." Henry's happy attitude cooled slightly.
"Yeah. He's a little more like the old Ben every day but he still doesn't wanna hang out much after school anymore. Or on the weekends." Alice nodded in agreement.
"I say we try to do something about that over spring break." Henry's smile returned.
"Agreed."
Two days later found Amy and Ricky sitting at his kitchen table with his laptop in front of them as John napped in the bedroom. Ricky had several Internet tabs open on the screen and a sheet of paper with information written on it in front of them.
"See? I got a discount for renting a room for an entire week and because John's under five he gets to stay free. The hotel has breakfast, as you know, so we'd only be eating out for two meals a day. And we could even reduce that by using the fridge and microwave in the room." He clicked a tab and showed Amy a map of nearby grocery stores and food marts to help reinforce his previous point. He then clicked another tab that listed local tourist activities. "And there are a lot of things we can do with John for free too." Amy tried to hide a smile as she listened to Ricky talk. She could tell from the look on his face and the excitement in his voice that he really wanted to do this and had put in a lot of effort to ease all her potential concerns about making the trip. "So what do you think?" he asked, looking away from the screen to see her reaction and hear her response. He took her smile as a good sign.
"You really wanna do this don't you?" Ricky nodded.
"We could all use a break and a change of scenery. Besides," he paused to close the lid of his laptop. "I think a mini family vacation could be good for us, help us become a stronger family, us taking care of John all on our own for a change." Amy considered his words and realized he was right. Since John's birth the two of them had never really been solely responsible for taking care of John; their families had always helped out on occasion. Maybe this is a chance to have a vacation and prove we can do it on our own at the same time. She gave Ricky a smile and he knew she was on board.
"Ok. On one condition."
"What's that?"
"We split the cost of gas and meals." Ricky shook his head but Amy cut him off before he could protest. "If this is gonna be a family vacation than we'll pay for it, as a family, and that means we'll both cover the expenses." Ricky saw the determined look in her eyes and knew the discussion was closed. Is it wrong that I find it sexy when she gets all assertive and decisive on me he wondered as he gave her a smirk.
"Ok."
"Ok. So let's look at those activities so we'll know how much money we may end up spending on our little adventure," she said with a smile. Ricky smiled back and opened his laptop. They spent the remainder of John's naptime planning their trip so they would have a concise game plan they could explain to her parents when they asked them about the trip, although they also left parts of each day unplanned so they could just go with the flow of the day.
Grace and Grant were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital with their moms, waiting to be called in to get their shots. Grant's mom was looking at him with worry etched into her face.
"I don't know, Grant. Africa is just so far away. What if something happens to you?" Grant tried his best to hide a smile; his mother worried too much.
"Well then it's a good thing I'll be traveling with a medical team so they can patch me up." Grace snorted at Grant's response and then hid her face behind the magazine she was leafing through. Grant's mother glared at him.
"Oh don't be so flippant about it! I know this is a good opportunity for you I'm just…worried." Grant gave him mother a reassuring look and reached over to take her hand.
"Mom, volunteer medical teams make these trips all the time. I'm getting the recommended shots, I've read all the information the group provided on how to stay safe while I'm over there and background information on the country and regions we'll be helping in. I promise not to take any unnecessary risks and come back in one piece," he assured her. His mother reached over and hugged him and Kathleen glanced at Grace with a worried expression of her own. Grace felt her mother's stare and lowered the magazine.
"I promise everything he said," she told her mother with a smile. Kathleen smiled back as a nurse came out and called Grace back to get her shots. Lord, be with them and the rest of the team as they travel there and back she silently prayed as she watched Grace follow the nurse to a room in the back. Help them do some good while they're there and come back to safe and sound.
As Grant waited to get his shots Madison was sitting on the couch of her living room looking at her parents, who sat on the loveseat next to her. Her dad was looking at her skeptically.
"But you hate camping," he stated. Madison rolled her eyes and sighed.
"It's not camping camping, daddy, we'll be in a large log cabin at night. See?" She directed her father's gaze to the location in the information packet he was holding that detailed the lodging arrangements for the trip by pointing at it. "And I'll be getting extra credit for school, a little exercise, and learning survival skills. You know, in case the world ends or something. Or my car just happens to break down near the woods. Who knows. Anyway it's a win-win. Besides, don't most parents want their kids to get outta the house each day, for at least part of spring break? This way the two of you get the house to yourselves for a whole week!" She could see her father thinking about it so she sat silently, waiting to hear his response. He turned to his wife.
"What do you think?" he asked her uncertainly. She chuckled.
"Your daughter asks you for permission to go on a school trip for extra credit and you're hesitant?" she asked him, her voice teasing. "She's taking a little initiative so I think we should let her go," she said with a smile, looking at Madison. Madison smiled and looked at her dad expectantly. He sighed, knowing he was outnumbered.
"Alright fine. But if you don't enjoy yourself I don't wanna hear about it. Deal?" Madison nodded eagerly as she watched her father put the papers on the coffee table and sign the last sheet.
"Deal!"